Replacing JD 50 radiator core

[machine and fab]

I'm putting a new aftermarket radiator core in my John Deere 50. I have cleaned the upper and lower tanks thoroughly along with the side members. The sealing surface on both tanks have some erosion of material which reduces the nice flat surface area down to about a quarter of an inch in width in some spots. There is however, a good flat surface all the way around both tanks even though its width is reduced due to erosion. What type of gasket sealer would you suggest to give me the best chance at ending up with a water tight seal? All advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance. Don Williams

 

[sunsettractor]

With so many products and opinions available, it can be a little intimidating of a job to do.
On my Styled D radiator I used Permatex Indian Head gasket sealer in the brush top can to adhere the cork gasket to the new core.
I then applied a thin film of Permatex ultra blue silicone to the tank surface, it was in about the same condition as you state yours are.
I also put a very thin film of the same ultra blue on the gasket surface itself, then let it get a bit tacky before I put them together, it didn't take long to
get tacky as I didn't use very much silicone, you don't want silicone inside your radiator, I used just enough to try and compensate for the uneven areas on the
radiator tanks, the D radiator is large enough to be able to see the inner gasket seal area in several areas, I couldn't see that any had squished out on the
inside of the tanks.
There were a few areas I could see the silicone on the outside of the tanks, after it dries it comes off easily with a small utility knife.
You don't have to crank down on the bolts that hold it together, you will be able to see the gasket start to bulge if you go too tight, you don't want that. It
was recommended to me to use permatex high temp thread sealant on the fasteners, so I did. Not even one drip from the radiator as of yet.
Make sure you match the holes on your new radiator core to the holes on the tanks BEFORE you start putting it all together, you will most likely have to
elongate some of the drilled holes to match your tanks, you don't want to have to force anything to go together, and just because the core is new don't assume
it will line up perfectly to the 80 year old tanks, it probably will not with out a bit of tweaking. This procedure worked well for me, hope your's does
too....Tom

 

[matthies]

Permatex No. 2

 

[Mike M]

Been several I've taken to a machine shop to get those tank surfaces resurfaced. The shops with the large belt sander type machine can easily do those tanks.